Albums of the Month December 2025

Albums of Month December

December was a really wonderful month for me. I really showed up for myself and others. I played a lot of gigs including some very unusual ones (Bravolution, Sonia Tetlow’s Friendsgiving, Winter Solstice Yoga event, a NYE wedding). I spent a lot of quality time with friends and quality time with Benny. I feel like my new self met my old self; there was reconnection and integration. And of course, unconsciously, my music listening seemed to follow this trend as well. Let’s get into it. Here is what I listened to this month.

Dec1: George Benson “Guitar Man”

If you know Benny, you know that I am a George Benson freak. There is nobody smoother and more sophisticated on the guitar or vocals than this man. Benson is a virtuoso in every sense of the word, but his music isn’t about that. This music is about playfulness, and if you watch a performance or interview of his, you will feel it immediately. “Guitar Man” is a wonderful album of his which would technically be considered within his later career period. Mostly instrumental covers with some vocal tracks, you gotta put this bad boy on sometime while cooking dinner or taking a peaceful walk. About twice a year someone will approach me on a gig and say I remind them of George Benson. On those nights, I go to sleep with a smile on my face.

Favorite Track: “The Lady in My Life”

Dec2: Good Terms “Burnout”

My very cool friend Kim (shoutout to Dive Bar Cookies at Laseter’s) put me on to this band, and I loved listening to this album over and over. I’m a big fan of the pop punk genre, but I kinda fell out of the habit of discovering newer music within it. That was clearly a mistake. The songwriting, the sounds, the production…it’s all there on “Burnout.” And the band is coming through Atlanta in February, so I will definitely be there.

Favorite Track: “High Right Now”

Dec3: Motion City Soundtrack “Commit This To Memory”

I’ve been a huge fan of this album since the day it was released and it usually pops up into my early winter listening. I love the songs, the quirkiness of the music and it’s delivery, the memories I have wrapped up in this music. It hits differently every time, but I also can connect with who I have been each time I listen. To me, that’s the good stuff that our favorite records share with ourselves. And listening to this album is SNEAKY emotional, which is my favorite type.

Favorite Track: “When You’re Around.”

Dec4: Thursday “Full Collapse”

We are definitely in an emo phase to start the month. I took this album on a walk and had such a big time listening to it! I always appreciated the earnestness of Thursday, and this album is a bit of a low key masterpiece. It’s a little strange, but it feels very authentic to me (we love that combo). I’m still trying to get that bass sound in my own playing.

Favorite Track: “A0001”

Dec5: Jim Hall “Ballad Essentials”

Jim Hall is another true master of the guitar and this is a beautiful record. I could probably listen to this every day and never tire of it. There is so much in this music for one to discover without being hit over the head with. It’s rich, it is soulful, and it is immense and gentle. I like my jazz in all sorts of ways, but I’ve found the gentle touch to be the one that speaks most kindly to my ears and to my heart. Make yourself a cup of tea, throw this on, sit on a good chair, and be grateful for a calm depth that isn’t trying that hard.

Favorite Track: “Skylark”

Dec6: Jay Som “Belong”

This was such a cool album that I had never heard before! Jay Som is an exciting new group that seems to make music because they love it. I hadn’t quite heard an album like this, but it was also very easy to listen to. Vibes vibes for days. Beautiful songs presented with interesting arrangements. This is a wonderful winter listen.

Favorite Track: “What You Need.”

Dec7: Ahmad Jamal Trio “Live at the Pershing Lounge”

Quite simply one of my favorite albums of all time. I’ve probably listened to “Live at the Pershing” over 600 times. This is the album that got me into jazz, and made me recognize music as freedom instead of “playing a part.” And that in turn led me to lead my life like that. This piano/bass/drum trio is absolutely communicating in such a beautiful way of this record. I’d give up my whole life to have been a person in the audience. If you want to know how I organize my nervous system, throw this bad boy on. Some of my favorite all time musical moments are on here that are making me smile just thinking about them.

Favorite Track: “All The Things You Are”

Dec8: Enya “Watermark”

Just gonna drop a poem in here (hope you are okay with that) because I think it captures how I feel about “Watermark” best.

Listening notes #1: Enya

Some music creates a spotlight.

This music creates a field.

I lay in it peacefully.

(This is not background music.

This is ground.)

Devotion without spectacle.

That’s it.

Some music says:

pay attention to me!

Enya says:

you can rest here.

Nothing is trying to convince me.

Nothing is climbing toward resolution.

The sound knows where it is

and stays,

loyal and without pressure

I sit with Chops

as the sun practices becoming morning.

We listen to Watermark.

The notes do not arrive.

They are already present.

They behave the way light does

on water

no agenda,

no finish.

I am not being moved.

I am being held.

Enya and I share a birthday (May 17).

That would be a coincidence,

if I believed in those.

Favorite Track: “Storms in Africa”

Dec9: Sonny Rollins “The Bridge”

Sonny Rollins is the freest musician I think who ever lived and “The Bridge” is a beautiful album to start with if you are interested in the best tenor saxophonist who ever lived (my opinion, but also many other people’s). Album of the month legend Jim Hall plays the guitar on here. The music is beautiful, unrestrained, and true. Sonny was quite famous for walking away from performing and recording music for long stretches at a time, and this is one of his comeback albums. The story of the record is perhaps the most romantic in music. Disappointed with his sound, Sonny quit performing and would walk out onto the Williamsburg bridge to practice his sax placing his sound into the night’s crisp air.

Favorite Track: “God Bless The Child”

Dec10: Jimmy Eat World “Futures”

Another all time Benny classic. I’ve loved Jimmy Eat World for so long and I so admire their ability to rock hard and also be gentle. “Futures” is one of their best records and really showcases everything they do so well. The songs are gorgeous, the music has the right amount of energy, the lyrics stay with you. I hadn’t listened to this one in it’s entirety for a few years and I likely won’t make that mistake again.

Favorite Track: “Work”

Dec11: Aretha Franklin “Aretha Now”

I think a lot of you probably know about Aretha but it’s always good to revisit her albums. Another big voice with a lot of tenderness and humanity. I think the world has forgotten that we can be both. This shit was sending me while lifting weights in the gym this morning. If you have 29 minutes and 27 seconds (you do), please consider spending it with “Aretha Now.”

Favorite Track: “I Say a Little Prayer”

Dec12: Marvin Gaye “In The Groove”

Alright we are in a Motown groove in the middle of this month. I remember writing a paper about this album and Motown music in my American Roots Music class at university. The professor said this was commercial R&B music and not roots music. Fuck him, am I right? “In The Groove” is just another beautiful drop in the bucket that is Gaye’s catalogue. I feel like I’m getting a needed hug from a friend when I listen to this music.

Favorite Track: “Loving You is Sweeter Than Ever.”

Dec13: The Supremes “Where Did Our Love Go”

I had a lot of fun listening to this record and dancing around my kitchen with Chops while whipping up one of Benny’s famous fruit sautes. This album feels so expertly made but also human. That can be done sometimes. I like who I am when I listen to music like this.

Favorite Track: “Come See About Me”

Dec14: Gang Starr “Moment of Truth”

It’s always fun to revisit some hip hop classics because the genre has changed so much over the years and is ever evolving. But fortunately records are records and live forever. “Moment of Truth” was a big record for me back when I had a touring career and I can remember myself stepping off the bus and playing this on my iPod nano in cities all over the world. It’s still good, maybe it’s even better. I was so happy to revisit.

Favorite Track: “You Know My Steez”

Dec15: Matt Nathanson “Modern Love”

I hadn’t listened to this record in years and it was so wonderful to be back in this world. The songs are amazing, the production is fun, and Nathanson’s vocals are really one of a kind and beautiful. A part of me really relates to this music.

Favorite Track: “Modern Love.”

Dec16: Phoenix “Alphabetical”

Oh mannnn Phoenix is one of my favorite all time bands. They write such beautiful songs with interesting and suggestive lyrics. Their sound palette is very one of a kind; modern tones with somewhat more interesting and classic arrangements. I used to listen to this record every other day with my college girlfriend (shoutout Lydia!). We spent many many days looking at the sun from our couch singing along and sharing this music. We broke up, but this album has stayed with me and I continue to jam it a lotttt over the years. And the bass playing on this record! It’s just perfect to me.

Favorite Track: “If It’s Not With You”

Dec17: Capital Cities “In a Tidal Wave of Mystery”

Capital Cities made an album here that is capital FUN to listen to. There is always something to hook you and invite you into its sonic world. Listening to this album is like going to a house party where a lot of your good friends have brought interesting people you haven’t met. And Andre 3000 pops on here, which is always magic.

Favorite Track: “Farrah Fawcett Hair”

Dec18: Bill Frisell “Big Sur”

You know me and Bill Frisell obsession. This is a wonderfully composed and orchestrated album that still sings of freedom. It’s one of my favorite records of his. It was written about Big Sur and recorded in a great big house out there. I’ve been to Big Sur a few times and this music sounds like being in this place.

Favorite Track: “A Good Spot”

Dec19: Willie Nelson “Redheaded Stranger”

Another one of Benny’s favorite all time records. Sometimes I put it on and completely melt into myself. I’m very proud to be a Texan, and Willie is a big part of that. My heart breaks when I listen to this, and it is always put back together by the end. It’s nice to connect so deeply with something. Sometimes I feel like I’m numbing out, and this album always wakes me up gently like a sunrise.

Favorite Track: “Hands On The Wheel”

Dec20: Bill Frisell “Valentine”

Here is Bill again (you will see a lot of him. He, Bill Evans, Chopin, and Enya are my core four). “Valentine” is my favorite of Frisell’s trio albums and this music is just out of this world. It came out a little bit before the pandemic and I was lucky enough to see the trio performs songs from this live at The Village Vanguard. That’s a special memory and it’s hard to believe I live a life where magic shit like that happens.

Favorite Track: “What The World Needs Now Is Love.”

Dec21: Sade “The Best of Sade”

Another poem (thanks for indulging me). Sade is very meaningful to me.

Listening Notes 3: Sade

Sometimes I picture Benny as Sade’s voice

Singing “By Your Side” to myself

The song doesn’t promise anything dramatic.

(We like a steady love)

It doesn’t ask to be believed.

It says: I’m here

in the way a chair is here,

in the way dusk sits down

without explanation.

Her voice moves like warm water.

no edge, no hurry,

as if devotion were simply

staying at the same temperature

long enough for trust to happen.

(We love a soft devotion that isn’t at all concerned with proving itself)

I don’t feel chosen.

I feel accompanied.

Like walking home

and realizing your shadow

never left.

This is not romance as ignition (we don’t get distracted by chasing a spark)

This is romance as shelter.

A steady hand on the back of the day

saying: go ahead,

take your time.

If love has a sound,

it’s this:

nothing reaching,

nothing pulling,

just a presence

that knows how to remain

without tightening its grip.

Favorite Track: “By Your Side”

Dec22: Vishnu Mohan Bhatt “Guitar A La Hindusstan”

Benny does love to get down with raga! When I started recording solo music for the bass, raga was my primary spiritual inspiration. And it still mostly is-raga moves the way that I like to move, both in my creative life and personal life. Alap, Jhor, Jhala: this is the “form.” Slow, free exploration followed by a pulse emerging, followed by rhythmic intensity with leaping freedom. This record is one of my favorites. I know it’s probably a little bit out there for some of y’all, but I think you will enjoy spending time being in this space.

Favorite Track: “Raga Tilak Kamodi”

Dec23: Rihanna “ANTI”

You probably already know this album and if you do, I am sure you love it. This music is so effortlessly cool. Some pop music sounds like it was made to be huge and successful. “Anti” was huge and successful because it was made to be itself and it was just that damn good.

Favorite Track: “Needed Me.”

Dec24: Azana “Ingoma”

My friend Safia showed me this record (shoutout wild thing, ow ow!) and I’ve been jamming it over and over ever since. A lot of people, including me, love them some afro-beats. But I’d check out some south-afro-beats too. The music is interesting and I find myself not getting lost in it, but finding myself (we don’t like to lose ourselves over here. We like to find ourselves in interesting places). My favorite track is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard.

Favorite Track: “Your Love.”

Dec25: Creedence Clearwater Revival “Cosmo’s Factory”

I used to jam out with my dad to CCR in his gray Nissan all the time as a kid. Those are my earliest musical memories, and I love that I can return to them any time I throw this music on. I’m a weird mix of cultures for sure (Native American, White, Moroccan, Jewish, Taoist, and Portuguese), but I did grow up a Georgia boy and this music always soothes that part of myself.

Favorite Track: “Up Around The Bend.” (I used to think they were saying Ben instead of Bend and who doesn’t love to hear the sound of their own name?)

Dec26: Norah Jones “Come Away With Me”

I listened to this album and cried in the shower. This music is always there for me, and this day was kinda spacious and emotional. I love who I am today, but I still hold some grief about certain things in my past (we can hold multiple things at once. It’s possible, it’s normal). I’m sure you know this album, but it’s worth a revisit even if you just listened to it this morning.

Favorite Track: “Come Away With Me’

Dec27: Madonna “Ray of Light”

I’m in my Madonna bag again! This is a kinda sneaky beautiful record with so many good songs and such a one of a kind production. It’s stayed with me by my side ever since its release, and my connection with it deepens every listen. We like this. It goes so hard! I dunno what it is. The music is really fun and gets the body feeling some exciting things. But underneath that layer there is a really beautiful album about awakening gently in a fast moving world. And I think everybody alive can kind of relate to that (I hope they can anyway).

Dec28: Erykah Badu “Live”

Another one of my favorite live albums. Badu makes me proud to be a Texan. She’s probably my all time celeb crush. Holy shit is the band killing it on this record. I feel about 600 percent cooler when I’m listening to this music. But it’s not a superficial cool, it’s more like a “I know who I am” type of cool. And I know all her ad-libs and talk to the audience by heart. Sisters how y’all feel? Brotherss y’all alright?

Favorite Track: “Tyrone-Live”

Dec29: The Doobie Brothers “Minute by Minute”

I’m a big fan of The Doobie (in contention for best band name) and this is a certified classic from the group. Only a very few amount of bands can do so much so effortlessly. This was such a fun listen with Chops while learning how to cook various types of mushrooms.

Favorite Track: “What a Foot Believes”

Dec30: Childish Gambino “Because The Internet”

I like this record a lot and jam it so often. A lot of people are “Awaken My Love” folks but this is the Childish Gambino album for Benny. Really are you eating though?

Favorite Track: “3005”

Dec31: Joe Pass “Virtuoso #2”

Ending the month with one of my all time favorite records. Joe Pass is like an alien who could build a civilization but just decided to come to earth and play the guitar really fucking well. Virtuoso is a cocky title, but it is more than earned. We probably need another word for whatever is going on here.

Favorite Track: “Misty”

It was a beautiful month of listening. I’m looking forward to January! As always, email me some recs basseverynight@gmail.com

See ya at the record store,

Benny